Boss Babes: Miki Agrawal, Thinx & Tushy

We first ran across Miki, badass entrepreneur, when we were talking all about our obsession with THINX – the period panties that every woman on earth should own (seriously). She was brilliant, charming and absolutely blew us away with her sincere and honest approach to changing hygiene, which got us talking about butt stuff (just check out Tushy). If we were picking one woman to get stuck on a desert island with, it would be Miki; her perfect mix of ideas, humor and passion would have us selling Chapstick to seagulls on the island in no time.

We first became familiar with you through THINX – Tell us about how THINX came to be? What’s the background story?

Every single month, I kept having period accidents – ie. forgetting to change my tampon/pad and leaking into my undies and clothes. It was messy, annoying and interrupted my days, not to mention ruining my favorite pairs of underwear. Clearly I’m not alone here 🙂 Pretty much all gals reading this has experienced this at some point in their lives right?

I did some digging and realized that in the entire 20th century, there has only been 3 innovations in the $15 Billion feminine hygiene sector (1931 invention of tampon – by a man, 1969 addition of the adhesive strip to a pad to prevent it from moving around and 1980s invention of menstrual cup). Why only 3 innovations in 100 years in a category that women required for the better part of our lives? Because it’s taboo. And “taboo” happens to mean “menstruation” in its Polynesian root word “tapua”. NOT kidding.

So we invented a much-needed pair of underwear that looks like a normal pair of cute undies but has hidden technology built into it that finally helps women period better. And they really work! Our THINX undies are moisture-wicking, absorbent (absorbs up to 2 full tampons worth!), anti-microbial and leak-proof. All you need to do is quickly hand wash them and put them in the washing machine and they come out brand new. They completely replace the need for tampons and pads on your medium and light days, thus helping ease some strife on mother earth. We recommend you wear them with a tampon or cup on your heaviest days. It took us over 3.5 years to perfect the product and patent the technology but now, magic period panties exist 🙂

In addition to solving our own period problems, we also realized the MASSIVE menstrual issue that girls in the developing world are experiencing still today. Right now, over 100 million girls are still missing a week of school because of their periods and are using things like old rags, leaves, mud, mattress bits to try and manage their period and none of it works so they end up staying at home. So, what we’re doing is for every pair of THINX undies sold, we fund a pack of reusable menstrual pads to girls in Uganda so they can stay in school. Pls watch our short documentary breaking this down:

As a follow up, tell us a little but about how Tushy started and how that plays into your vision for the hygiene market?

Tushy, is fighting the global sanitation crisis while elevating the way you clean your butt. Did you know that wiping with toilet paper hasn’t changed since 1890 and causing things like urinary tract infections, hemorrhoids, yeast infections and overall gross butt syndrome? Not to mention killing trees to the tune of 27,000 trees a day? A single roll of toilet paper requires 37 gallons of water to make. No kidding. All of this can be prevented with the simple use of a bidet so I created Tushy, a bidet attachment that attached to your toilet in less than 10 minutes and turns your toilet into a bidet. No plumbing, no electrical required and costs $57 and requires only one pint of water per use. It cleans period blood real nice and gets you nice and clean pre-post sex too 🙂 And, for every Tushy sold, we partnered with Charity: water to fight the global sanitation crisis that is affecting 40% of the world.

Why do you think it’s so important to innovate in an area that people are loath to talk about?

If you look at my businesses, the two constants are: I get to address real taboos and give back in areas that I care about (basic human rights). We get to break these taboos with education, humor and inspiration. We get to educate people on what is going on around the world, even if they can’t see it first hand – whether it be menstrual taboos that cause girls to drop out of school, the fistula crisis that is ruining women’s lives (and can easily be fixed), or the sanitation crisis that affects 40% of the world. I feel good that we have helped 30,000 girls go back to school with THINX’s partnership with AFRIpads to date and look forward to having even more impact in the years to come.

What are three things you wish you would have known before starting your own businesses?

Hire slow, fire fast!

Having a good operations person can change the game.

Culture trumps strategy all day every day. Create amazing culture.

What is the best entrepreneurial advice you have ever received?

Only work with people who have undying curiosity in their respective domains (to the point of obsession).

Could you share the most important thing you have learned as a female entrepreneur?

To not try to be over-masculine or over-feminine to get my way. Just be me and let my freak flag fly as authentically as possible and once you truly get to that authentic place, people will start following…

Also I always say “Iteration is perfection” – it’s my favorite saying that I made up 🙂

What word defines the twenty-something years?

Learning

What can we find you doing to relax?

Getting massages/acupuncture, doing yoga, spending time with friends

How do you combat a bad day?

Remind myself of the following saying: “Appreciation is the antidote to anxiety” and I focus on what I am grateful for and all is good.

Coffee and orgasms are non-negotiable. Yes, I love my dog more than you. No, I’m not sorry about it. I am a writer, a world-traveler, a part-time yogi, and a full-time magnet for all things crazy and comical. I don’t make any excuses for who I am. And neither should you.